Assessment

Duncum Center Solutions administers the The Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP) assessment instrument to help people better understand their responses to workplace conflict. The CDP measures situations and behaviors that can trigger conflict for individuals and provides insight into how they respond to conflict once it is provoked.

Executive Summary

The CDP is based on research in the fields of organization and interpersonal conflict. The organizational research finds that conflict, while inevitable, can either be the basis of better creativity and decision-making or the cause of poorer morale and productivity. The key differentiator is how people respond behaviorally when conflict arises. The interpersonal research explores those types of behaviors that lead to more effective conflict results. They are differentiated between reactive fight or flight behaviors and those that involved understanding the issues underlying the conflict and developing mutual gain resolutions to the problem.

The CDP measures a series of constructive and destructive responses to conflict. Uses of the constructive behaviors results in more emphasis on effective problem solving whereas reliance on the destructive behaviors serves to enflame and prolong the negative aspects of conflict. The instrument measures how often people engage in various behaviors and compares their scores against those of a norm group of leaders and managers.

The instrument was developed by psychologists working with the Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College. It has been validated and the results published in the Journal of Educational and Psychological Measurement (August, 2004).

What to Expect from the CDP

The Conflict Dynamics Profile was developed to prevent harmful conflict in the workplace. Backed by solid evidence of reliability and validity, this instrument provides managers and employees with a greater awareness of how they respond when faced with conflict.

With results from the profile, participants can expect an insightful approach that lessens the problems associated with harmful or unproductive forms of conflict and results in more effective conflict management skills.

Easy to use. Quickly and easily completed in 20-25 minutes, the Conflict Dynamics Profile is appropriate for employees at all levels and is applicable for organizations large and small, across all industries.

Flexible. The CDP-360 is the multi-rater version of the Conflict Dynamics Profile instrument and CDP-I provides a self-assessment format for individuals. Both versions are available in online, as well as in paper-and-pencil formats.

Multiple applications. Connect and collaborate. The Conflict Dynamics Profile can be used in leadership development programs, teambuilding, executive coaching, and conflict resolution contexts.

Feedback reports and development guides. The CDP-I includes an eight-page report that incorporates data on 15 conflict behaviors and nine workplace “hot buttons.” A 40-page development guide delivers helpful suggestions for improving the responses to conflict. The CDP-360 includes a 22-page report that provides detailed information on how a person responds to workplace conflict. It includes data from the individual and his or her boss, peers and direct reports on constructive and destructive behavioral responses and it explores workplace “hot buttons”—behaviors in others that can trigger irritation in an individual. Expect information about the person’s behaviors at different stages in a conflict and insights into how conflict is viewed within the person’s organization. Narrative feedback from the person’s colleagues helps the individual handle conflict more effectively, and a 115-page development guide provides practical recommendations for improving behaviors. The two instruments can be effectively combined in organizations. Typically, the CDP-360 is used with managers and executives and the CDP-I is used with supervisors and other employees. Since both instruments are based on the same model and use the same vocabulary, people are able to communicate more effectively with each other, regardless of which version they have taken.